Are you looking forward to Valentine’s Day? I ask because this is one of the few holidays the mention of which is as likely to be met with a snort of derision as a sigh of anticipation. As Valentine’s Day is often accused of being a so-called ‘Hallmark holiday’, invented (or at least perpetuated) by […]

Guest bloge entry by Bryony Bartlett-RawlingsFigure 1: V&A inventory number 29876.4Juan Dolívar after Jean Bérain the ElderPossibly after a tapestry design by Jean Bérain the Elder1685-1693Every year around Valentine’s Day images of Cupid begin to appear on cards and in shops advertising gifts to buy for our loved ones.

By Sue PrichardWhen I agreed to give the lunchtime lecture ‘Making Love at the V&A’ I had no idea the title would generate such a flurry of anticipation, and indeed trepidation. 'Timeout’ appeared to be a little disappointed, describing it as ‘perhaps unfortunately not what it sounds like’. One member of the audience made no bones about it ‘I hope this isn’t going to be embarrassing’. Oh dear – who would have thought that such a short word could create such havoc.